Holidays at altitude, or cool holidays at Edelweiss

For sure, the guys who had a rest in the holiday camp Edelweiss, more than once use the fashionable epithet ‘cool’, telling their classmates about their holidays. Firstly, ‘cool’ – fully corresponds to the location of Edelweiss: the camp ‘climbed’ into the mountains at a height of 1 800 metres above sea level. And you get there by a steep, breathtaking from the beauty and air, mountain road.

Secondly, in addition to traditional for camps entertaining and informative programmes, for each shift its “highlights” prepared by Almaty power engineers, who patronise the camp. By the way, this summer about three hundred children had a rest in Edelweiss for two shifts.

The group of ‘School Ambassadors for Promotion of Equal Opportunities’ was responsible for their interest, knowledge, erudition, enthusiasm and positive energy. This programme was launched at AlES in 2018. And, as time has shown, the ‘ambassadors’ have already done a lot to ensure that the children of power engineers from a young age joined the profession of their parents, learnt the world of great physics, developed, intellectually and physically, leading an active lifestyle. This corresponds to the traditions of the camp, which has existed since the 70s of the last century. 12 years ago Edelweiss changed its dislocation and now it is located 13 kilometres from Almaty.

– The children’s health resort is run by the Trade Union of Energy Workers. For children of Almaty Electric Stations JSC employees, 50% of the cost of vouchers is compensated by the trade union of the company and AlES, – shared information Serik Tymmbasbaev, Chairman of the Trade Union of “Energia”. – We prepared in advance for the arrival of children. We carried out current repairs of the buildings, painted and whitewashed everything, bought new bedding, crockery and music equipment. The staff was selected on a competitive basis.

In the first shift 157 children had a rest. Among them was Valera Vlasov from the 2nd detachment. He is in “Edelweiss” for the fourth time coming.

– “Edelweiss” for me – the best camp! Here is always great and interesting, you can always find a lot of exciting activities. For example, I like to play football and volleyball. And we had a very friendly squad,’ he shared his impressions.

Gulpara Zamadinovna Makhanova is the camp director. She works in “Edelweiss” for the second year and knows everything well here, as well as the hobbies and interests of children.

– We have a whole team that has been working in the camp for almost 15 years. We hold a casting of teachers, starting in January, we select the best. There are 8 squads in the camp. A tandem works in each of them: a teacher-educator and a counselor-student, – explains Gulpara Zamadinovna. – Educators monitor safety and order. To make it interesting for the children, we come up with a new season’s programme every time. Every day there is a disco – the children like it very much. We hold various contests, competitions – even Valentine’s Day. We write kind words to our friends and counsellors. At the end of the season parents leave their impressions in the Book of Reviews. They are often surprised, because in the camp children unexpectedly reveal themselves even for them. For example, a child at home does not dance, but here he dances to the full. “Edelweiss” is creative!

Many children of power engineers have holidays here traditionally every summer. Some of them even twice a season. But Abil Symbat, from the 4th squad, came to the camp for the first time. The girl liked the food, the counsellors, the games, and especially the cheerleading competition.

– I want to come next year with my friends, – Abil shares her plans. – Because “Edelweiss” is happiness!

To make the days full and interesting, the sleep sound and the food tasty, there is a friendly and professional staff, and many of them – not the first year. For example, Askhat Tastybay is a counsellor here for the second year. This time he had the 8th detachment – Neugomonnye (Restless). The name fully corresponded to the temperament of the children of the detachment. But Askhat did not lag behind them! Shynaim Bagdatkyzy, the counselor of the 7th detachment “Champions”, also became very attached to her charges.

– We had 10 boys and five girls in our squad, – says Shynaim. – Talented and inventive children. The Parents’ Day we prepared was very memorable. It was interesting to see how parents saw the new talents of their children and the counsellors …

Physiotherapist Olzhas Kozhabayev works at high speeds in the camp. And he likes it, it’s his second year at Edelweiss:

– I like the nature of the camp, the children, – Olzhas admits. – Here we have a professional staff of counsellors. For the season we make an author’s plan of events. This time we held contests “Miss Edelweiss” and “Mr Edelweiss”, national and sports games. “Edelweiss” – it’s just gorgeous.

The ideas of the counsellors the children like very much. Tatyana Vlasova, a pupil of the 1st detachment, who comes to the camp for the third year in a row, speaks enthusiastically about them.

– This year I became “Miss Edelweiss”! – she joyfully informs. – In the squadron decided that I will perform. And when I won, everyone congratulated me. I was very happy, I called my parents and grandmother – everyone was happy for me.

But the “veteran” of the camp can rightfully be considered Anton Lopushkov from the 1st detachment. For the first time he came “Edelweiss” in 2018, and since then he tried not to miss the seasons.

– I like discos and photo hunts, when we take pictures all in red or green. This time I didn’t have anything red, so I took my red towel. And the result: a jumping photo, a pyramid photo. Here you have to be creative all the time,’ he shares his emotions. – And also the food here is super, especially beshbarmak and pastries.

Which is not accidental: senior cook Galiya Karaulova has studied the guys’ tastes very well. There are five people in their cooking team, including a baker.

– We bake bread, flatbreads, wattles, sausages in dough, sausages with cottage cheese and many other things, – Galiya lists the children’s favourite food. – The camp has six meals a day. In addition to baked goods, we try to cook what they like most of all: cutlets, meatballs, zrazy, mashed potatoes, spaghetti, fresh salads, beshbarmak, kespe. We do everything from the heart and with joy!

And, of course, the projects of the power engineers, who regularly visit the children, were inventive and even exclusive. In the first shift in “Edelweiss” with their programme came workers of CHPP-1 named after B.Orazbayev. They specially went to the camp to immerse the children in the world of a wonderful industry – energy, without which it is impossible to imagine life today.

Where the light comes from in a bulb, how the current runs through the sale, what parents do at power stations … The guests told the children about it visually, accessibly and interestingly. It is clear that children have heard about the professions of their relatives in general terms. But these lectures at the height – in all senses – impressed the children.

A fascinating excursion into the profession of a power engineer did not leave any child indifferent. Lively and sincere interest of children was aroused by the history of Almaty Electric Stations JSC, where their parents work. Many learnt much more about what they do at work and how much effort they make to ensure that there was always light, heat and hot water in the taps in Almaty.

Alisher Teltai, an engineer of the Repair Service of CHPP-1 named after B.Orazbayev, told the children about the principles of operation of the heat and power plant in an accessible and entertaining way.

– Of course, at home the children have heard their parents’ stories about their work many times, but I believe that by talking about the principles of the CHPP, I was able to immerse the children in the world of big energy,’ says Alisher. – I tried to answer all their questions in an accessible way. We hold such meetings every year. And each time we think how to make it even more interesting for children to better understand the power engineering profession.

Talking to the children, Alisher emphasised that not only men, but also women work in the power industry. He explained the importance of their role in production. By the way, 591 women out of 3037 employees work in AlES JSC now. This is 19% of the entire staff of the company. They are represented at all facilities of the company, occupying both managerial positions and engineering and technical positions

After the educational part, the young employees of the CHPP organised quizzes in which the children participated with pleasure and received prizes with delight. The meeting culminated with a quiz by Bekzhan Bucharbek, a mechanic at the turbine shop of CHPP-1. It revealed the children’s versatile knowledge of history, physics, chemistry and maths, as well as their logical thinking skills.

– We prepare the quiz questions in advance, thinking over each task. I am glad to see that the children listened and answered the questions with interest and enthusiasm, demonstrating their understanding of the importance of the power engineering profession, – Bekzhan said.

Children from different squads willingly shared their impressions of the meeting. The meeting with the power engineers from AlES was very exciting, – said Mirais Abek from squad 7. – I participated in the quiz and I am glad that I knew the right answer. They gave me a prize – a ball. It’s cool, because I love football!”

Zhandos Nurdauletov, from Squad 8, was delighted with the energy workers’ story, the quiz and the presents. He is the third time in this camp and authoritatively states: “Edelweiss is wonderful!” – Amir Bokanov from the 5th detachment agrees with him, calling the camp the best, firstly, because he has a lot of friends here, and secondly – because it is interesting! “I participated in all the contests, answered questions – and it’s cool, – Amir summarized. And Amelie Nysynbaeva from the 6th detachment especially liked the dance competition. “I won it! – Amelie rejoiced. – I’m sure the Edelweiss camp is a miracle”.

The bright meeting of young power engineers and children ended with a flash mob, which united all the participants and gave everyone a sea of positive emotions. Young employees of CHPP-1 named after B.Orazbayev are sure that such communication not only broadens children’s horizons, but also helps them feel part of a big and important cause.

The equal opportunities project continued in the second shift. This time, the School Ambassadors also lit a spark of interest in energy. Literally and figuratively. To the enthusiastic applause of the children, Almaty power engineers launched … a power plant module. A small model of the station, showing ingenuity and undeniable creative talent, was made by the workers of CHPP-3. All of them are participants of the programme “School Ambassadors for Promotion of Equal Opportunities”. Representatives of all departments of CHPP-3 participate in it. Bauyrzhan Ali, electrical fitter for repair of the Central Technical Control Centre, and Ruslan Ayupov, electrical fitter of the Electric Electric Stations, demonstrated the work of the station to the children on a model they had assembled themselves.

Although the station was assembled from children’s toys, cardboard boxes, real wires and parts, plastic wind turbines and palm trees, the event impressed everyone. When the light bulbs on the module really lit up, the kids were delighted – for a hundred points! But the main thing was that at the same time, most of the children were also genuinely interested in energy.

Demonstration in “Edelweiss” of how light appears was a fascinating event for the “School Ambassadors” themselves, what to say about the children who were completely delighted by the experiment. In addition, energy is one of the most fascinating sections of physics, which has a huge applied value. And what makes up our everyday life always attracts a lot of attention, including that of children, the energetics specialists believe.

– Of course, today you can find a lot of things on the Internet – principles, schemes, diagrams and videos to see how a spark appears, how current runs along wires, lighting thousands and thousands of bulbs and starting up equipment. But such visualisation in person, on the layout, is much more entertaining,’ said Elmira Turumbetova, metrological engineer at TPP-3. – The guys could observe the process of launching the ‘station’, ask questions, look at everything in detail. The real process is more impressive than any, even the most perfect online broadcast. We are glad that we were able to ignite a spark of sincere interest in children. For sure, some of them are already thinking about their future profession.

The demonstration of how a power plant works was just one of the items in the large programme prepared by the School Ambassadors. Aisulu Irzhanova, Chief Specialist of the Department of Industrial Safety and Labour Protection, and Nauryzbek Kuzenov, Chief Specialist of Industrial Safety of the Central Industrial Safety Department, presented the important topic of safety to the children by answering their questions. They told about the rules of the road, spoke about road signs, which and for what are responsible, and how to cross the road correctly and safely. The game-quiz ‘Logical questions’ left the children delighted and a lot of positive emotions.

– After the informative information, quiz and dance games, we treated the children to punch prepared by the CHPP-3 employees themselves,’ says Elmira Turumbetova, a metrology engineer at the technical maintenance department, who organised the programme. – And then we organised an entertaining foam show. The emotion and joy of the children cannot be conveyed in words. It was a fiery programme, and we were all charged with positivity!

And in general, the School Ambassadors say, they had only positive emotions and impressions from the camp.

– We were surprised that the children were so active, says Anel Saduakas, engineer for calculations and modes. – We were equally surprised by their counsellors – young, energetic, talented kids. We saw that a counsellor at Edelweiss is not just a teacher’s assistant or a person who entertains children. A counsellor is a friend who can always help and to whom you can tell everything. This is a person from whom they will take an example.

– Camp Edelweiss is perfect for children who are looking for an active and fun holiday, – expressed the opinion of Zhakan Nurlan, an electrician. – One of the most memorable events in this camp for us was also a foam party. This is not just entertainment, but a full-fledged show, which, we hope, left a vivid impression on everyone.

And to keep them in memory for a long time, the power engineers gave their young charges headphones. They will not only remind about informative, funny, musical rest, but will also serve schoolchildren when they want to listen to their favourite song, repeat new foreign words, or watch an educational programme on the Internet. For example, about energy, reinforcing an interesting summer lesson from Edelweiss.

– Thanks to the power engineers! The children liked everything, especially the foam party, – says Adim Abdrashitov, a counselor of the 6th squad “Barbariki”. – Thanks especially for showing them how the CHPP works.

And the main assessment of “School Ambassadors” was given by the holidaymakers themselves. Aisultan Moldabekov from the 5th detachment rated the programme as excellent, summing up the enthusiasm of the children: “I liked it very, very much, it was fun and interesting”.